No one can ever really be too old to have Christmas spirit, but how much really changes from the time you're a kid to when you're a young adult?
Movies.
Kid: Will not object to watching a Christmas movie, even if it’s with the whole family. Tends to show favoritism to the funny movies and the cartoons. Will probably point out if you have already watched that movie during this holiday season.
Young adult: Has the “ABC’s 25 Days of Christmas” movie schedule memorized and hanging on the refrigerator and bathroom mirror. Quotes Christmas movies 365 days of the year. “Santa! I know him, I know him!” ("Elf" – if you seriously didn’t know what movie this was from).
Songs.
Kid: Knows the classic holiday tunes such as “Jingle Bells” and enjoys repetitively singing strange versions of only one tune, such as “Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg,” etc.
Young adult: Listens to Christmas music November through January, as well as occasional dates in July. Knows most, if not all, lyrics. Can shamelessly perform several versions of one song, including but not limited to Justin Bieber and Michael Buble’s entire Christmas albums.
Attire.
Kid: Gets slightly embarrassed when a relative buys and forces them to wear some sort of holiday themed article of clothing. Likes to wear the Santa hat around the house and on Christmas morning.
Young adult: Owns multiple pairs of holiday-themed socks, with the intention to collect 31 different pairs (one for each day of December). There’s no such thing as owning too many tacky Christmas sweaters and the rule of thumb to follow when selecting said tacky sweaters is “go big or go home”, i.e. it lights up and/or plays music. Believes every occasion is an occasion to wear a Santa hat.
Cookies.
Kid: Helps make Christmas cookies in the kitchen for about 30 seconds. Spills flour on floor, licks batter off spoon, leaves. Comes back an hour later and steals several, still leaving one or two for Santa.
Young adult: Attempts to make a batch of Christmas cookies. Eats entire batter of first batch. Attempts to make second batch. Burns cookies. Goes to the store, buys the sugar cookies with holiday pictures on them because those are cuter anyways.
Gift wrapping.
Kid: Struggles to wrap gifts independently. Ask Mom for help, or simply gives the gift as is with an apologetic smile.
Young adult: Struggles to wrap gifts independently. Asks Mom for help or simply gives the gift as is with an apologetic smile.
Santa Claus.
Kid: Believes in Santa, loves Christmas, and has incredible spirit because they have not yet experienced the Grinch world of adulthood.
Young adult: Believes in Santa anyway, loves Christmas, and has incredible spirit because – despite this awful Grinch world – the holidays are a time of love and giving. And because funds are very low and you get some free stuff.
